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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23147002">Chat Noir Knows</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Math_and_Lunacy/pseuds/Math_and_Lunacy'>Math_and_Lunacy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Chat Noir/Ladybug Fluff, Extortion, F/M, Identity Reveal, Oblivious Marinette Dupain-Cheng</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:28:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,555</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23147002</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Math_and_Lunacy/pseuds/Math_and_Lunacy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After their latest akuma, Chat Noir reveals to Ladybug what he has learned.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>311</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Chat Noir Knows</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I… I think I might know who Hawkmoth is,” said Chat Noir.</p><p>Ladybug, with one hand on her yo-yo ready to escape back to her house for the night, and the other held out for a fist bump, let both hands fall and turned to face her superhero partner. “You do?!” she said, “But that’s great news! We can make a plan, a good one. Oh, Chat, this is wonderful. It’s been years! Wait, why do you look so upset?”</p><p>“I just… I don’t understand why she’s doing it. Like if you knew her—actually you do, we’ve worked with her before—you’d know she’s usually kind and super friendly. And, maybe it’s all been a lie?”</p><p>“She?” said Ladybug, who’d seen Hawkmoth with her own two eyes before. Definitely a guy.</p><p>“Yeah. I think Hawkmoth is a girl. Like a lycee aged girl. I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve had a lot of time to think this over, and there’s a lot of evidence against her. I just… still can’t help thinking she’s confused somehow.”</p><p>Ladybug considered all of this. She supposed it was possible Hawkmoth had tricked them all into thinking she was a middle-aged man bent on world domination. And sure, Ladybug knew plenty of lycee aged girls who might just be crafty enough to successfully dupe all of Paris.  </p><p>“Alright, what do you know?” she asked.</p><p>“Well, for one, she’s close friends with the Ladyblogger—possibly using her to gather information on us.”</p><p>Ladybug’s eyes widened and she realized at once who Chat Noir meant. <em>Lila Rossi</em>. That girl was the biggest liar Ladybug had ever met. Of course! Why hadn’t she seen it before? Lila Rossi was Hawkmoth! It made perfect sense.</p><p>“She’s nearly always missing when there is an akuma attack.”</p><p>Ladybug nodded. That would make sense.</p><p>“She’s late a lot, as if she’s returning from some important mission, and she usually won’t admit where she was or what she was doing.”</p><p>Ladybug nodded again. Secrecy was a huge super villain giveaway.</p><p>“She attends Dupont High School, which we already decided is some sort of strange ground zero for akumas. <em>And</em> I saw her stuff some food into her bag one time. It just disappeared before it was even out of her hand. You know, as if she were hiding a kwami in there.”</p><p>“It’s not a lot to go on,” said Ladybug, “But I trust your instincts, Chat. I think I know exactly who you’re talking about, and she <em>does</em> seem the type.”</p><p>Chat hesitated, “Well actually, that’s the weird part. She doesn’t really seem the type at all. She’s actually… nice.”</p><p>“That’s what liars do Chat Noir,” said Ladybug sadly.</p><p>Chat Noir bit his lip, “I guess so. But what do we do?”</p><p>Ladybug closed her eyes and wracked her brain for ideas. “I think one of us needs to try to get close to her—maybe figure out what she knows, or at the least determine if she really <em>is</em> Hawkmoth.”</p><p>Chat Noir considered as well. “Maybe I could approach her,” he said, “In my civilian form. I could, I don’t know, ask her on a date or something?”</p><p>Ladybug chuckled and punched his arm, “Come on Chat, be serious.”</p><p>“I am. I’ll take her out to dinner or something—somewhere just the two of us, like on a romantic paddle boat ride under the moonlight, and then try to find out what she knows. Maybe see what her plan is with the miraculous—or try to find out if she’s got some sort of hidden evil personality. I can be pretty annoying you know, I bet I could bring it out of her.”</p><p>“I’ve no doubt you could,” said Ladybug, smirking, “But are we sure we should be risking your civilian persona like that? And would Lila even go for it?”</p><p>“Lila?” said Chat Noir in confusion, “I was talking about Marinette. You know, Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”</p><p>Ladybug turned to him. “You think Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Hawkmoth? Seriously?”</p><p>“Well… yeah. So, I guess I could just approach her in my civilian persona and see if she’d be interested in a date.”</p><p>Ladybug blinked, “Is this some kind of joke? Because Chat, I swear, it’s not funny.”</p><p>“I know it’s hard to take in. I told you, she doesn’t seem like the type at all. But that’s a lot of factors to explain away. They start to add up. And besides, the times I’ve met her before, she definitely seemed like she was interested in, you know, something romantic with Chat Noir. Like so interested, that it’s almost like she was into me with some nefarious purpose in mind—rather than because she admired my charming personality.”</p><p>Ladybug gaped at him.</p><p>Chat Noir continued, “And if she turns down the date with my civilian self, I could say it’s just as friends, and maybe invite her somewhere that way. Or I could just try to… I don’t know, seduce her. James Bond style.”</p><p>Ladybug spluttered. “That’s—that’s… um, no. I don’t think you should do that. No, definitely, <em>definitely</em> don’t do that.”</p><p>He looked offended. “You don’t think I could do it? Listen Ladybug, just because <em>you</em> don’t find me appealing, doesn’t mean Marinette won’t.”</p><p>“W—Wh… but… I… this has nothing to do with me, Chat Noir!”</p><p>“Well you know what, fine,” he said, crossing his arms, “I’ll just get someone else to do the seducing. I happen to be friends with Adrien Agreste, you know. He would do it too. He would seduce Marinette Dupain-Cheng. For the greater good.”</p><p>Ladybug froze. She looked around, made sure they were absolutely alone (they were, it was just the two of them, on that same balcony where Chat Noir had first tried to make her a romantic dinner). And then she glared at Chat Noir. How <em>dare</em> he?</p><p>He looked back at her, expression completely innocent. Too innocent. “I’m sorry, what was that milady?”</p><p>“I said, I’m going to murder you.”</p><p>He looked unfazed. “Wow, that is such a supervillain thing to say, Ladybug. Be careful, or I might think <em>you’re</em> Marinette next.”</p><p>“When did you figure it out?” she demanded.</p><p>“When did <em>you</em> figure it out?” he countered.</p><p>Ladybug didn’t answer.</p><p>“Oh come on, don’t be mad. I had to have a little bit of fun. I can tell that you’ve known for ages—years probably. I only figured it out last week.”</p><p>Ladybug frowned. “Why do you think I’ve known for years?”</p><p>“Because you were always so weirdly shy and clumsy around me—as if you knew a secret and really didn’t want to tell me. And that’s fine, you know. I thought you hated me actually, so I’m kind of relieved to realize you were just trying not to give yourself away. But you can stop now. I’m caught up. Our double dates with Alya and Nino don’t have to be nearly so awkward anymore.”</p><p>He waggled his eyebrows and Ladybug could just tell he was trying to bait her into scolding him for calling their group outings double dates. Or at least, she knew that with one part of her brain. The other part was still a reeling mess.</p><p>“I—I see. Yeah. Um, sorry about that uh… Adrien?”</p><p>He smiled, “No worries milady.”</p><p>Oh God.</p><p>He leaned forward, grabbed her hand and kissed it—like he always did. “I’ll see you tomorrow milady! Or should I say, Purr-incess?” He winked and leapt off the balcony, disappearing into the night.</p><p>Numbly, Ladybug made it back to her house as well. The moment she was inside, she dropped her transformation, and Tikki, concerned, floated up to her face, “Marinette? Are you alright?”</p><p>Marinette blinked. She looked around her room, and then blinked again. Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out to see she’d received three new messages from Adrien Agreste.</p><p>Oh God.</p><p>Adrien&lt;3: Make it home safe Purr-incess?</p><p>Adrien&lt;3: Did you really think Lila could be Hawkmoth? You realize he’s a middle-aged guy, right?</p><p>He sent a selfie of him laying on his bed, smiling. It looked like something straight out of a magazine. Oh God! Marinette dropped the phone before she could read the last message.</p><p>“Marinette,” said Tikki, floating just above the ground near her phone, “Do you want me to read what he said?”</p><p>Marinette didn’t answer.</p><p>“Oh, it’s actually from Plagg. He says Hi—aw, that’s nice of him—oh, he says he’s going to need a whole lot of camberbert if you want him to keep quiet about what he knows.”</p><p>Marinette snatched up the phone and quickly typed out her response.</p><p>Marinette: Just give me a number.</p><p>Tikki chuckled, “Aw, Marinette. Would it really be so bad if Chat Noir found out you had no idea who he was before tonight? Adrien might realize that your shy behavior was not because you were keeping a secret, but because you were in love with him. I think it’s romantic.”</p><p>Marinette let out a strained laugh. Chat Noir, find out she’d been head over heels in love with him for the past three years? Did Tikki have any idea how long it would take for her to live that down? Their grandkids and great-grandkids would be hearing about it. He’d be smug until the day he died.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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